Things I have to disagree with Yang on as a conservative, and why it’s important we have our disagreements

Before I go on, here’s a little background on me:

I was a former Trump supporter and am currently a registered Republican. In 2016, I supported Rand Paul, then Ted Cruz up until the primary (I am currently converting to Catholicism so I value Cruz’s Catholic background), and then Donald Trump in the general (but not much, I was vacillating between him and Johnson up until Aleppo). I continue to be a pretty strong conservative. My economic views are left leaning, and my social views are right leaning.

I came across Yang in February 2018 when I saw him mentioned offhandedly somewhere on the Internet, and I went to his website to take a look (it hasn’t changed much at all, except for all of the new pages for policies, volunteering and events). I was instantly enamored by his forward thinking policy plans, perceptiveness in the threat of automation, and the intelligence and sensibility behind his character. Honestly, I thought he had no chance- after all, he was nothing but a website at this point in time- but I kept interest and told some friends and family about him. As I began to see his interviews and as his campaign fleshed out, I joined the Yang Gang in earnest.

As a result, a lot of my economic conservatism softened out as I understood the impact of UBI, access to healthcare, and the role of economic support in shaping our communities and dealing with our social issues.

However, I am still a conservative at heart, and despite how much I love the Yang campaign and have worked to spread the message far and wide, I disagree with him on various fronts.

1. I disagree heavily with his stance on abortion. In my religious and secular views, I do not view abortion as a right. Although I tolerate contraceptives and believe greatly in sexual health and awareness, abortion- especially in later weeks of pregnancy- crosses the line for me. Roe v Wade should be overturned and not codified into law. In its place, I do support UBI, access to healthcare, improvements in sex ed and access to contraceptives- all of which would reduce abortion. I also support paid maternity leave, and improvements to our foster care system so that a pregnancy doesn’t have to be terminated.

2. I also disagree heavily on his stance on 16 year olds gaining the right to vote. I’m a senior in high school, and I can’t even trust my fellow 18 year olds to make those decisions. Civics is usually only taught by your senior year of high school, so 16 year olds would be voting without even having a civics education. I think this plan is absolutely ludicrous, and we should revert the voting age to 21.

3. I’m also in heavy disagreement with Yang’s support of court stuffing. The judiciary is, arguably, the most potent of the three branches of government and should not be messed with. It is supposed to be an impartial body of the nations best legal minds who interpret our laws within the context of the Constitution. Court stuffing essentially eliminates this precedent entirely. I’m also in disagreement with term limits for the Supreme Court. As our Justices gain experience on the bench, they become not only more accountable and visible to the public (eg Ginsburg, Thomas, Scalia) but also more competent at their work.

4. Yang’s approach to gun control is somewhat acceptable, however my greatest issue is with licensing. In general, the government should not have a say in regards to what we can have to defend ourselves. I support the idea that some people shouldn’t have guns, but ONLY at the discretion of a court of law. I also think we should emphasize gun training much more- subsidize and emphasize it- so that lawful and morally just citizens have the ability to aptly defend themselves and others whilst not putting others at risk with their weapons.

5. It doesn’t appear Yang has a strong stance on energy independence. I honestly think Yang should emphasize this more in the context of our foreign policy and economic security. Building off of the nuclear idea, as well as finding new ways to make fossil fuels cleaner and more efficient, should be a part of that (carbon capture, “clean coal”, finding new fuels, natural gas, making fracking/shale mining safer).

6. As a securities trader in my spare time, a financial transaction tax would be BRUTAL. 0.1% on all trades and transactions is a LOT- especially given most trade fees are less than that. Over time, this adds up to a lot, and could kill investment in slower-moving markets where 0.1% could be the day’s gains. In the context of the trillions that flow through the derivatives and options markets each year, this becomes a massive burden for our financial industry. A reduction in the tax could work if revenue for the UBI is still needed, but we should explore other ways to raise money in less sensitive fields.

7. The regulation of social media is going to be an impossible- and questionable- task. We should be striking at the heart of where hate and violence come up: economic or social insecurity, a lack of community or belonging, or negative cultural influences. I’ve been there before, and while I’ve been fortunate enough to lift myself out of that dark stage in my life (thanks to the Yang Gang!), many others still have that sense of insecurity in our society or in their personal lives. The internet is a free place, for better or worse, and we’re only ever going to get better results by attacking the core problem.

8. DC and Puerto Rico are unfit to become states. As for DC, they compensate for their lack of representation by the amount of political influence there. DC’s representative is HUGELY influential in Congress, and DC is also very wealthy on top of that. As for Puerto Rico, it would be way too hard to integrate them as a state and it’s probably better for them to be sovereign.

9. I support Voter ID as a means to prevent voter fraud SO LONG AS the process to get one is easy and very accessible for anybody.

10. The Electoral College as it stands must be preserved and understood as one of the primary counters against the tyranny of the majority. By giving states the vote, we ensure that- especially as urbanization takes hold- every part of America gets to be heard. That means that rural states won’t be overshadowed by the urban ones, and the small man still has a seat at the table. This is at the core idea of what we are- the United STATES- and as one of the most geographically and culturally diverse countries on Earth, it would be egregious to simplify our decisions down to a popular vote. In every case, the people who live in states like Wyoming and South Dakota get snuffed out and their values and issues go unheard, as if they were already under the cultural, economic, and social influence of the bigger states. While we may sometimes get a President who didn’t earn the popular vote, that makes it ever so important that our candidates pay attention to ALL of America- not just California, New York, Pennsylvania, and Florida.

11. I own Bitcoin and I’ve owned it since 2013 (I guess I’m lucky, right?). Cryptocurrency ought to remain free and anonymous and secure, and I don’t believe in regulating it extensively. The more we regulate it, the more it loses its purpose and vision, not only as a commodity, but also as a means of exchange.

And that’s about it, out of Yang’s 105 or so policies, those are really the only ones I have a gripe about. I guess it goes to show how far reaching Yang’s message is. I’m not irreverent of Yang- I’m a long-standing and enthusiastic member of the Yang Gang- but I still have my disagreements!

Even still, I think it’s important that we have disagreements with our candidates. Being able to disagree with our candidates and leadership on issues demonstrates that we still have our own values and convictions as individuals that allow us to make our own unique contribution to politics. Having these disagreements, but still being able to respect a candidate or even extensively support one, is essential to a healthy democracy. Without them, we lose the value behind it.

I’d like to hear what disagreements you may have with Yang, so we can expand the discourse behind his campaign and empower it even more, to show the diverse set of ideas and values behind the Yang campaign.